This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
On September 9, 2019, Kenyans woke up to a fake social media storm, with screenshots claiming to show a conversation between ODM Communications Director Phillip Etale and Imran Okoth, in which Etale allegedly offered a 2M bribe to Okoth to rig the Kibra primaries.
The screenshots were a desperate attempt by ODM's opponents to discredit the widely praised Kibra nominations, which had taken place without any instances of chaos.
However, the plot was soon exposed when Phillip Etale took to Twitter to deny any involvement in the fake conversation, saying 'Dear Friends, the number on that FAKE thing is mine. So please stop sending me money on M-PESA #GodFirst.'
Imran Okoth, who won the ODM primaries with 4382 votes, will face off against candidates from rival parties, including Jubilee's McDonald Mariga, in the November 7th by-election.
